EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $191.80.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EGP. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the third quarter valued at about $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP stock opened at $161.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties has a 52-week low of $155.23 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $173.06 and its 200 day moving average is $177.89.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $162.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.